Building Bridges
by Lily272
Summary: Summaries are hard. I don't want to spoil anything. Oh well, Joey meets Seto after not seeing him for a few years and makes him the best coffee Seto ever had, waking some memories of someone they both know...I really can't write much more without spoiling things, so just read it. By the way, I googled the picture. It's not mine.


**Authors Note: **Firstly, I own nothing, secondly Seto is a little talkative at times but I think if you put the way his life is going and that he didn't really have someone to talk to for some time he might tend to get that way. Apart from that, just enjoy and let me know what you think of it.

* * *

**Building Bridges**

It's starting to rain when Kaiba looks towards the street below him. He isn't sure why he's here but he doesn't really care right now. It's been two years since Mokuba moved out to go to college and since then he has been visiting twice, each time for a week.

Apart from those two weeks, the two years had been a current blur of repeating days. Seto would start a project, work on it and finish it just to start a new one. His company is still at the top and he's working hard to keep it there. Every day, even before Mokuba moved out, the work had started to become repetitive and even though he still loves his company, it's hardly a challenge by now to keep it at the top.

Now that Mokuba has left, his free time is the same. Before work he showers, gets dressed, has a coffee with a pancake and then goes to the office. After work he stops at a restaurant, has his dinner there in private, since the restaurant is kept open longer just for him but everyone else is already gone when he arrives. After that Seto drives home and gets into bed. Only Sundays are different. On that day, he's alone in the office, apart from security of course.

With another sigh Seto wonders why he had gone here today instead of going to the restaurant. Maybe the doctor that does his health check once a month is right after all. With a sigh Seto remembers how he had talked about him possibly getting burn out or a depression. Possibly even both. It had sounded ridiculous. But for a while now Seto had hanged his evening routine and instead of going to the restaurant he had gone here to watch the cars below. Always wondering why he even did it, but not really caring. He isn't hungry, so why go and eat?

Sometimes he wonders what the people in the cars are doing, on other days he wonders if anyone would miss him should he fall down there and die? Mokuba is the only one he can think of that would really miss him. But today Seto wonders if even he will miss him all that much. He hasn't been around all that much and might think of Seto from time to time if he'd die but his life would go on just as it does now.

Some people from his company might miss him but most might go out and celebrate the death of the devil. He knows very well how some of his employees talk about him as a cold hearted devil that cares for nothing but money. How little do they understand him? He doesn't really care about the money and most of his income goes into charity by now. He can easily live with the money he has in his bank account. The interest alone is plenty of income to ensure that he'll never have to worry about anything. But it doesn't make his life any less tedious.

He doesn't know why he minds so much recently. He's always been working a lot. Even before Mokuba had moved out. It was the same routine back then, just with Mokuba going to the restaurant with him.

Part of him is wondering how far he can lean over the side before falling and while the more sane part in his mind is wondering why he should even care? The other one is telling him to try even if it's just for a change in his tedious routine. Should he fall the routine would finally end and Seto hardly notices his own upper body already leaning forward while he thinks about that when he hears a voice. "What ya doing?"

Seto freezes in the position he's in for a moment and then turns towards the voice. Standing in the by now pouring rain is no one else but a soaking wet Joey Wheeler and looking at him with an arm stretched towards Seto. With surprise Seto notices how deep in thoughts he had been to neither notice the increase of the rain nor the fact that it didn't reach him, thanks to the umbrella in Joey's hand. _'How long has he been standing here?'_ Seto wonders but replies, "None of your business. Just leave me alone."

"But then you'd get wet." Joey states with a smile.

"You're going to catch a cold." Seto grumbles. "Just go home and get dry clothes."

"I don't mind getting a cold." Joey says with a shrug, "Would at least give me a few days off work."

"Lazy bum." Seto mumbles and after a moment of silence, during which Joey continues to hold the umbrella over Seto's head, he adds "Can you even afford that?"

"Sure." Joey grins and once again it's silent for a while. But this time Joey is the one breaking said silence. "But if ya really want me to dry off, ya can come with me and have a coffee at my place."

"Why should I?" Kaiba grumbles.

"Because I'm not gonna leave ya standing alone in the rain without an umbrella." Joey says and looks at Seto a little worried. Causing Seto to wonder if he'd figured out into what direction his thoughts had been going.

"I don't need a guard dog, so go to hell." Seto grumbles.

"I make the best coffee in Domino." Joey says trying to lure Seto, who just eyes him.

"I doubt it's better than the best I ever had." He grumbles after a moment.

"Maybe not." Joey replies grinning, "But I bet ya five bucks that it's at least as good."

"You do realize that you can't possibly win that bet?" Seto asks.

"How do ya know that?" Joey grins, "You never tried my coffee and that one's just as good as my dad's one was."

"And that's supposed to impress me?" Seto asks, "But apart from that, you can't win because you're betting against me and I'm also judging the coffee, so I can always claim to have had better. Apart from the fact that I really doubt that you of all people can make a coffee that can compare to the best one I had yet. You do realize that with my money I can always get the best?"

"You would still tell me the truth." Joey says, sounding certain about it. "I trust you."

"You can't trust anyone in this world." Seto states dryly, looking back out towards the lights of the passing cars beneath him.

"I disagree." Joey says, "And you can trust me that I'm not gonna leave ya standing in the rain. Ya didn't even bring an umbrella even though it was raining a few times during the day."

It's quiet for a moment before Seto finally reaches the conclusion that he won't get rid of the mutt anyway and that going with him is at least as good a distraction from his tedious routine as staring in the rain. "Fine, but I will hold you to that bet if the coffee isn't the best?"

"You'll have to." Joey claims, "Since I will get the five bucks from you."

"And what do you expect to gain from keeping me dry while getting soaked?" Seto asks.

"One." Joey grins.

"One thousand?" Seto replies outraged, "Aren't you a little greedy?"

"Who said a thousand?" Joey asks grinning, "I can't even remember saying anything about money. I meant one 'thanks'. You still know the meaning of the word, don't ya?"

Seto frowns, "No one does anything without financial gain."

"I do." Joey says.

"Then you're even more stupid than I thought." Seto insists.

"Nope, just nicer." Joey says. "And now let's go. I wanna win that five bucks."

A little later Seto is sitting down at a small wooden table in a small apartment. A bed is standing in one corner and a dresser right next to it. There doesn't even seem to be a TV in the small apartment and Seto watches Joey getting out a few things from the drawers and cupboards that are located half way along a wall in the other corner than the bed is. There is a small stove and a sink as well.

Seto watches Joey getting out two cups and filling one with milk that he places into an old looking microwave that still seems to be the most modern part of this trash. Seto doesn't see a coffee machine anywhere but Joey got a coffee filter out of a cupboard as well as a white porcelain cone coffee filter holder. Seto watches him getting out a few coffee beans and a small electrical coffee grinder. "Do you like your coffee strong or not?" Joey asks while filling the beans into the grinder.

"Strong." Seto replies. "And no sugar."

"Wouldn't think about that." Joey grins with a glint in his eyes while he presses some buttons before the machine is starting to ground the beans. Joey gets out the by now heated milk and puts a bit of chocolate into it before placing the filter into the holder. After that he's grinning at Seto and clearly deliberately standing in the way to watch what exactly he does, apart from grabbing some more things from a cupboard where he is. Seto can't see clearly what it is though.

A little later Seto just sees him quickly moving the coffee holder, from which a bit of coffee is still pouring down, over the chocolate milk just to put it into the sink after only a few drops got into that cup. By now the smell of the coffee is filling the whole room and Seto doesn't know why, but it reminds him of one of the few happy memories of his time in the orphanage. There aren't many of those, since especially Mokuba was bullied whenever he didn't watch him and fight to save him. But there was this one guy, he was always trying to cheer Seto up whenever he had lost such fight and made him a hot chocolate. Every time he did that he put a few drops of his coffee into it and at some point Seto had sneaked his coffee and ever since he loved coffee. Even though he never had gotten one that even got close to it since.

"My son loves it this way." That man had usually said when putting the few drops into the milk. Why does Seto have to think of him now? With a sigh he remembers that he's always been smiling. No matter what had happened, he'd always been smiling and even though he often spoke of his son and daughter, he's been at the orphanage so often that eventually Seto had seen him cry. On the day Seto had to leave he had seen him cry. Seto had wanted to say goodbye and sneaked away to the kitchen where he usually was. That's when Seto had heard that his wife had left him with their daughter because he was working at the orphanage so much without additional pay.

Seto had left without saying goodbye, thinking about how often that man had stayed longer to cheer him up. He'd never even gotten a thank you from Seto.

With a sigh Seto returns to the present when he notices a cup being placed in front of him. "It can't be as good." He mumbles.

"You haven't even tried yet." Joey says, while having a sip of his hot chocolate. Seto looks at his smiling face and just now realizes that it's the same smile.

'He's his son.' Seto thinks and smiles, knowing that if Joey really learned to make this from his father it must be great. Everything Joey's father cooked back that had been the best Seto ever had. Even better than the best chefs Gozaburo could hire. No restaurant has ever been able to compete with it and when Seto had taken over everything, he had tried to hire him as his personal chef, nearly certain that it would be pointless since that man lived for his work. But he had been too sick to work by then. Now Seto understands why Joey usually seemed to be so rough at school, his dad can't have had much money taking all that into consideration.

With a sigh Seto takes the cup and drinks a sip. "You added chocolate to Jacob's coffee, didn't you?"

"You knew my dad?" Joey asks surprised.

"Yes, I did." Seto says with a fond smile, "He worked at the orphanage I was in."

"I never saw you there." Joey points out, "And he usually took me with him since mom left. Man, I had great fights there. Dad even used to muse that someone's bound to sue him for child abuse because I was always scratched and bruised and all just because some kids where jealous that I had a dad and they didn't."

"You're the only one who can enjoy something like that." Seto says, smiling a little. "You're not living with him anymore, are you?"

"He died a few years back." Joey says, sounding only a tiny bit sad but is still smiling, "It feels like he's still around though when I'm at work."

"What are you doing?" Seto asks, wondering about it for the first time.

"Same as he did." Joey replies, "Too bad ya left before I got to go there with him. We might have been friends otherwise."

Seto shrugs and has another sip of his coffee. It really does taste very nice. A hint of chocolate was added but without the additional sweetness that Seto thought would have to come with it. He looks around to stop himself from getting too talkative and notices that there is hardly anything personal around. A few pieces of clothing is lying on the floor close to the bed. Two pictures frames are on the dresser but the way they're turned Seto can't see what pictures are in it. "You should get changed." Seto says after seeing the dry clothing and being reminded that Joey still hasn't changed.

With a sigh Joey stands up and walks towards the dresser to take some clean and dry things out and starts to get changed, not bothering with the fact that Seto can see him. And since he's standing with his back to him he doesn't notice the way Seto nearly stares at him while thinking about what Joey clearly doesn't have from his father. The old chef Seto remembers from his time in the orphanage was even smaller than Joey is now and his figure was quite a bit more chubby. Joey on the other side is skinny and now that he's getting changed Seto can clearly see the slight definition of the muscles on his arms and back.

When Joey even changes the by now soaked boxer shorts, Seto notices not only how the speed of his heartbeat accelerates. "Why do you live alone?" Seto asks, certain that it's due to the work he's doing. It can't be his nature or his looks, because both are starting to even appeal to Seto by now.

"Don't know." Joey muses. "The only one I ever wanted doesn't give a rats ass about me."

"Fool." Seto mumbles and sees Joey turn around surprised but a smile spreads on his face.

"Nah, I wouldn't really have time anyway, so who cares?" Joey states continuing to get dressed and not looking around anymore. "But then again, he's working about as much as I am."

"He?" Seto asks, wondering if Joey could really be more interested in men than girls.

"Yeah." Joey says, by now he's nearly dressed again and walks back to the table while pulling a shirt over his head. "Ya don't mind, do ya?"

"No." Seto says with a frown and stands up to walk through the only door leading from the room, apart from the one they entered it through. Assuming that it must be the bathroom. To Joey's surprise he doesn't bother to even close the door behind him but returns quickly again with a towel in his hand and walks over to Joey and places it over his wet hair that is currently dropping on the previously dry shirt. "Dry your hair you stupid mutt or you'll catch a cold." Seto says with a smile and wonders himself about the affection in his voice or why he starts to dry Joey's hair himself.

"Like I said." Joey says, letting Seto continue. "I wouldn't mind a day or two off due to it. I'm sure some of the minders will fill in for me since I always do it when they get sick."

"You really are a lot like your father." Seto muses, "Just better looking."

"I'd better be." Joey grins, "I'm younger than the old man."

"Did your father teach you to cook too?" Seto asks.

"Yep." Joey replies, already guessing where this question is leading to.

"You could earn more with less work if you'd cook for me then." Seto says, hoping that Joey will take the offer even more than he had hoped with his father. It might be nice seeing him more often.

"Sorry moneybags." Joey says much to Seto's disappointment. "But I've got two very strong reasons not to."

"Which would be?" Seto asks, hoping to be able and counter both.

"There are always a few kids that get bullied." Joey points out, "How would ya have felt if dad had left ya there without his cheer up hot chocolates?"

"I could pay for a new chef, as well as a few more additional staff to watch out for the kids." Seto says.

"Wouldn't be the same." Joey says, "Because I don't do it for the money, I love the kids and they feel that."

With a sigh Seto has to accept that it's probably true, since he doubts that anyone else than Joey could have replaced his dad so well there. The kids probably need someone like him, a loyal little puppy dog to love them. "Then I get them a dog." And with that Seto earns himself a kick from Joey, who grabs the towel from his hands and looks up angrily.

"And here I started to think that ya can be civil." Joey grumbles.

Seto just chuckles and takes the towel back to drape it over the back of Joey's chair before leaning against the table close to Joey and taking his cup of coffee to have a bit more before asking, "What's the second reason?"

"I don't wanna work for you." Joey states dryly and Seto freezes for a moment.

He quickly recovers from Joey's words and puts the cup back onto the table and says, "I guess I should go now. Since you clearly don't want me here."

Joey takes his hand when Seto stands straight and is about to walk away and says, "Don't go yet, it's still raining out there."

Seto looks at him and then asks, "Why do you want me to stay, when you hate me so much that you wouldn't consider to work for me? Even if I offer you much better working conditions than you currently have?"

"Because I'd feel weird to work for the only guy I ever loved." Joey says without any hesitation. It has been years since Joey last saw Seto and Joey knows that it might be the last time he even gets to see him, so it definitely is his only chance to at least try getting closer to him and Joey had decided that he would tell Seto that he loved him all along, before he would let Seto walk away on him again, the second he saw Seto standing on that pedestrian bridge.

Seto's eyes widen and once again he's a little surprised about the way his body reacts to this. He looks down into the warm brown eyes that look nearly a little begging towards him and then leans down a little towards them, noticing how now Joey's eyes widen ins surprise. Slowly Seto brings their lips together and can hardly believe the way it feels.

Joey's lips move gently against his and soon their tongues are battling for dominance before Seto manages to explore the other's mouth. Soon Joey is pressed off the chair he previously was on and onto the floor, while Seto is on top of him and enjoys the moan that escapes the blond man beneath him when their tighs are pressed together. "Seto.." Joey moans and Seto only covers his mouth with an even more heated kiss before moving on to his neck. By now Seto is hardly thinking about what he does and simply enjoys the feeling he gets from being this close to Joey and the sounds that he can draw from his mouth. And the more he gets from that, the more he wants and doesn't even think about stopping, especially since Joey seems to enjoy it just as much and much later that night both guys fall asleep where they are.

* * *

The next morning, Joey wakes up on the hard floor and is a bit sore. Partly due to the activities of the previous night and partly because he slept on the hard floor. Once Joey notices what woke him he looks towards Seto, who is sleeping so deeply that he doesn't seem to hear his phone. Joey takes it out of the pants that are lying close by and looks at it. After seeing Mokubas picture flashing on it with every ring he decides that it's safe to pick up. "Hey kiddo." He says quietly, hoping not to wake up Seto.

It's quiet for a moment and Joey has to stop himself from laughing while imagining Mokuba to look at his phone to check if he's got the right number. "Who's there?" Mokuba asks after a moment.

"Joey Wheeler of course." Joey says, still trying not to be too loud to wake Seto and not too quiet, so Mokuba will hear him clearly.

Once again it's quiet for a moment and Joey assumes correctly that Mokuba is checking if he has the right number for the second time, just to notice that yes, he did call Seto. "Why do you have Seto's mobile?"

"Oh he had it, but he's still sleeping." Joey says, betting everything he has that Mokuba must be confused. "Ya want me to try and wake him because that ringing didn't do the trick."

"If you can?" Mokuba says, sounding confused and surprised at the same time.

Joey just leans closer to the brunet man, who's still cuddled up too closely and presses his lips on Seto's. Happy that he's finally able to map out the inside of Seto's mouth until Seto wakes up. Soon after that Seto is kissing back so fircely that Joey can't help but moan a little before mumbling "Mokuba" during the kiss. The look on Seto's face is priceless and Joey just grins saying, "Chill, I just was trying to tell ya that ya brother is calling and asked me to wake ya." And with that he holds out the phone towards Seto, who glares a little at Joey for letting him think for a moment that Joey was thinking of Mokuba while kissing him.

Seto takes the his phone back and with a sigh says, "Good morning."

"I just wanted to check up on you." Mokuba replies, "You're secretary called me because ya didn't go into work."

Seto looks at the time and just notices that he really is already two hours late. "And why did my secretary call you?"

"Because apparently you looked depressed for a few months now and he thought that it might be better if I talk to you and possibly try and talk you into taking a break and have a vacation or something possibly to visit me" Mokuba explains, "But now I rather want to know why the hell Joey picked up your phone and then tell me that you're asleep and like that isn't wired enough I even hear him moan while trying to wake you up?!"

Seto watches Joey while Mokuba talks and notices that even though he's smiling, he also looks a bit nervous and realizes that even though Joey had confessed to him, he had't done much to show his feelings, apart from screwing him silly most of the night but that might not be enough to show Joey that Seto wants more than just screwing him senseless. Most of all since Seto himself had decided that he wants more while watching Joey sleep after screwing him a few times. Seto had temporarily considered to carry him towards his bed or at least get a blanket but had opted to cover them both with his coat because and move him after letting him fall asleep a bit more deeply but by then, Seto had been asleep too. "That's easily explained, little brother." Seto says smiling fondly towards Joey, "I'm working on making Joey your brother- in- law."

Seto has to smile even more after seeing the surprise on Joey's face and then the sun-rivaling-smile. "Does that mean you're already dating or are you still working on that too?" Mokuba asks.

"He's going to move into the mansion today." Seto states.

"Who is?" Joey whispers and after Seto just points at him he adds, "I think I still got some saying in that."

"No, you don't." Seto whispers holding the microphone from his phone a bit away. "Because with both of our work we'll hardly see each other even if you move in and I insist on getting as much time with you as possible."

"Am I interrupting something?" Mokuba asks, just about having heard that his brother was whispering something. "I could call you back later since I have to call Yugi to split the money."

"What money?" Seto asks into the phone.

"Oh nothing big." Mokuba starts to explain, sounding happy. "I'm sure you remember that I wanted to meet up with Yugi and Joey and the rest last time I was over? Well, Joey was working and we others ended up to talk about him for a while and that he's working so much and can't find anyone because of it. In the end I said that you two would make the perfect couple and we all ended up betting if you two would end up together or if one of you will start dating someone else. Yugi and I bet you would end up together but Tristan, Duke, Téa, Mai, Rebecca, Leon and even Serenity bet against it. We all bet ten bugs and the winners are supposed to split up the money so Yugi and I get 30 bucks."

Joey had reacted to Seto's question too and while Mokuba explained about the bet he whispered, "I just remembered, you still owe me 5 bucks."

Seto can't help but chuckle feeling happier then he had in ages and Mokuba says, "Okay, I get it, you're busy playing with your puppy. Call me back when you're done, okay? Bye." And with that Mokuba ends the call while Seto is roaring with laughter just from imagining Joey's reaction when he'll tell him what Mokuba just said.


End file.
